The Temperamental Cook
by Namibean
Summary: Nami forgets to give Sanji a gift for his birthday. A week later, she figures out how to make up for it.


One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda. I own nothing.

This is my submission for #sanami week. Prompt: Handle with Care

The galley and kitchen of the Thousand Sunny were surprisingly quiet as Nami sneaked in through Chopper's infirmary. She had been waiting in the reindeer's office while Sanji finished cleaning up after another rowdy lunch. Now that the cook left, she could finally get started on her project.

Taking a small folded piece of paper out of the pocket of her shorts, Nami first went to the fridge to start gathering ingredients. She was thankful to be one of only three of the Straw-hats who knew how to unlock the fridge. Punching in the combination: 7326, Nami frowned a little. It was a code she had no trouble remembering because it was a combination of her birthday, Sanji-kun's birthday, and Robin's birthday… Yet, somehow she had forgotten Sanji-kun's birthday last week.

The guilt still lingered in the pit of the navigator's stomach. Time flew by so quick she didn't realize it was March 2nd until checking the calendar that morning while getting dressed. Nami never had trouble remembering any of the crew's birthdays. Usually she would have picked up a present well in advance just in case they would be stuck at sea for a while. Why didn't she pick up anything for Sanji-kun?

That day had been so awkward. Watching as everyone else gave the cook gifts, Nami hoped that Sanji-kun wouldn't notice that he didn't receive a present from her. He never said anything about it, but she could tell he was bothered. The distant way he had treated her every day afterwards was a large indication. Now it was a week later and the navigator had figured out how to make up for it.

After laying out six eggs, a bar of bittersweet chocolate, and a container of sugar on the counter, Nami collected two metal bowls and a small ceramic bowl from the cabinets. Next she took down a pot from off the wall near the stove, filling it one-third with water. Finally she grabbed an apron hanging from one of the hooks and tied it around her waist. Looking down at the paper, she took a deep breath, rolled up the sleeves of her sky blue shirt, and pulled her long, orange hair back in a messy bun so that it would be out of the way. The words Chocolate Soufflé stared back at her. "Okay," she clenched her fists in determination, "I can do this!"

...

Sanji leaned on the railing outside the kitchen as he smoked a cigarette. With eyes closed, he listened to the waves while trying to relax on his smoke break. He had a few hours before he needed to prepare dinner, but the cook was in no rush to do anything else at the moment. Last week had been such a disappointment with Nami-san forgetting his birthday; Sanji didn't really have the motivation to do much lately. Even making desserts for the ladies felt like too much of a chore. He hoped they didn't mind.

Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were running around the deck while preparing to fish. Brook musically accompanied their shenanigans with his guitar. Franky was manning the helm. Robin-chan was up in the flower garden and marimo was working out in the crow's nest again. So where's Nami-san? Sanji wondered, just as the faint scent of burning chocolate came from the kitchen. He quickly extinguished his cigarette and paced back towards the galley.

...

Nami stared at the bowl of egg whites, beginning to feel defeated. No matter how much she whisked, it looked foamy and separated. It was nothing like the light, airy texture described in the recipe. She signed in frustration. This was not how I imagined it going.

"Huh? Nami-san, what are you doing in here?" The deep voice startled Nami. She spun around to see Sanji-kun quickly walking towards her. He was already grabbing an apron off of the hook and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.

Oh no! He's going to figure out what I'm trying to do! "Sanji-kun! I-I'm sorry! I didn't think it was time to start preparing dinner yet!" Nami fidgeted as the cook came up to the counter and stood right next to her.

"It's not time to start preparing dinner yet," Sanji explained while looking down at the recipe on the counter. "I just smelled something burning."

Nami gasped, "The chocolate!" She ran over to the stove. The chocolate that had been melting was starting to look grainy. "Ugh! Don't tell me that I'm going to have to do that again as well!"

Sanji looked over her shoulder at the chocolate. "It's starting to seize, but it's not hopeless yet." He turned down the heat on the stove and removed the bowl that had been resting over a pot of simmering water. "Nami-san, can you get some butter out of the fridge please," the cook requested while he got a small dish out of the cabinet above the counter. Nami pouted a bit, but did as she was told. The last thing she wanted was for Sanji-kun to prepare his own birthday present.

Returning with the butter, Nami watched as Sanji spooned some into the small dish and melted it over the simmering water. Next he poured the melted butter into the grainy chocolate, stirring until the mixture looked glossy again. The navigator was astounded at how easily the cook fixed the problem. "You know, Nami-san," Sanji spoke with a slight smile as he returned the chocolate to the pot on the stove, "if you wanted a chocolate soufflé, you could have just asked me."

Nami felt the color rush to her cheeks. "Um…. Thank you, but it's not for me. I wanted to make it… for someone." Sanji looked sideways towards her before checking the recipe again.

"Oh….? Who is this lucky someone?" Sanji managed to smile, but inside he was beginning to panic. He would give anything to receive a handmade dessert from Nami-san, even if she did almost completely ruin 5 ounces of chocolate. Who was the lucky bastard that was receiving a handmade chocolate soufflé from this angel?

"Someone… special," was all Nami could manage. Her eyes were downcast in embarrassment. What made her think she could ever give a talented cook like Sanji-kun a chocolate soufflé as a birthday gift? She should have just bought him a new lighter or something.

Sanji gauged her reaction. Whoever this jerk was, he was definitely someone Nami-san cared about. That was more than he could say for himself since she didn't give him a birthday present last week. A hug or a kiss on the cheek would have sufficed! Sanji sighed, setting his disappointment aside. "Okay, I'll help you."

Nami stared at the cook in shock. "What do you mean, Sanji-kun? I don't need help. I'll be fine." She gave a nervous giggle in an attempt to mask her feelings of incompetence in the kitchen.

"Nami-san, chocolate soufflés are notoriously difficult to make. Please, let me help you." Sanji wasn't really asking. It was already decided. "If this soufflé is for someone that important to you, then I will help you to the best of my abilities." He gave a slight bow.

Ever the gentleman… Nami smiled. How could she ignore a request like that? Plus, she really could use the help, even if it was for him. "Okay, okay," she put her hands up in surrender. "Can you please help me?"

"My pleasure!" Sanji gave her a quick smile before turning back to the recipe. "So we fixed the chocolate. How are the egg whites coming along?" He glanced into the bowl of the foamy mixture.

"Sorry, Sanji-kun. I tried to beat them, but they don't look anything like what is described in the recipe." Nami frowned. She never thought of herself as being a bad cook, but baking was not her specialty. This was her first time trying to beat egg whites. She had never attempted making a meringue or anything fancy like that before.

"It's okay," he ran the whisk through the egg mixture a few times. "These we can't salvage, but we do have more eggs. Can you get me six more eggs please," he requested while rinsing the foamy mix down the drain in the sink.

As Nami returned with six new eggs, she was surprised to see Sanji grabbing a copper bowl from one of the cabinets below. "Copper?" The navigator questioned, laying the eggs on the counter.

"There's a chemical reaction between copper and egg whites that make them whip up easier," the cook explained. "Do you want to try beating while I separate them?"

Nami's stomach dropped. The last thing she wanted was to fail at beating egg whites again. "Do you think I would be able to? Maybe I should separate and you beat them."

Sanji shook his head. "Part of the reason the last batch didn't work is because there were some pieces of yolk in there." Nami sighed, feeling like a failure. "Don't worry though, Nami-san," he continued with an encouraging smile, "I know you can do this." She nodded, accepting her assigned job.

Separating eggs required no thought for Sanji. He had done it so many times it was second nature, like breathing. So, as he felt the whites slide from the yolk through his fingers, the cook couldn't stop wondering whom this soufflé was for. He tried running through all of the crew's birthdays. It couldn't be Luffy. His birthday was coming up in May. The dumb swordsman was November. Chopper was December. Robin-chan was just last month. Brook and Usopp were both in April, which could have been a possibility, but a soufflé would not keep for a month considering it was only March 9th. Then Sanji froze. It was Franky's birthday!

Franky! Franky?! Sanji felt a heavy weight on his chest. Franky and Nami-san?! That pervert?! What the hell would a woman like Nami-san see in a freak like Franky?! "Sanji-kun, I'm sorry for all of the extra egg yolks," Nami brought the cook's racing thoughts to a halt. "The recipe only calls for three."

Sanji shook the image of beautiful Nami-san lovingly giving that perverted, gorilla-looking cyborg a perfect chocolate soufflé. "Say ahhhh…." He cleared his throat. "No worries, Nami-san. I can always use the yolks in other dishes. I think tonight we'll have carbonara for dinner." The cook poured the remainder of the egg whites into the copper bowl and washed his hands.

When he turned back to Nami, Sanji muffled a laugh with his hand. The navigator wasn't really whisking the eggs at all. It was more like she was stirring them in a circle. No wonder her first try was just foam. "Nami-san, was that how you were making your first batch?"

The navigator turned to look at him. Her cheeks were slightly pink. "… Yes," she could feel the embarrassment beginning to overwhelm her.

Embarrassed Nami-san is so adorable. Sanji thought he was going to pass out. Instead, he gave a small chuckle and approached his crewmate. "It's okay. I understand that you want to try to do this yourself, but…" he held up his hands so Nami could see them, "can you please let me teach you how?"

Nami agreed but she was confused. What did he mean by teaching her? Suddenly, Sanji covered her right hand with his own, getting a better grasp on the whisk. Nami held her breath as she felt his body come up behind her own. His other arm came around her body as his left hand covered hers, taking hold of the copper bowl.

"Okay," Sanji's voice came out soft and low near Nami's ear, causing her to shiver. Looking down over her right shoulder, he tried to ignore the delicious tremor from the navigator's body and focus on the task at hand. "The first thing you want to do is hold the bowl at an angle, like this." With her left hand in his, Sanji tilted the copper bowl upwards, at a slant.

"The next part isn't really tricky so much as you just have to pay attention," Sanji continued his instruction. There was a pounding against his chest. He wasn't sure if it was his heart or Nami-san's, or maybe both. Focus! "You want to beat the egg whites like this." Their hands moved the whisk upwards through the egg whites. "This will incorporate air into the mixture and make the fluffy texture that you read about in the recipe."

Nami nodded but she could barely pay attention to what the cook was saying. The warmth from his body was both comforting and arousing. Being held by Sanji-kun wasn't something she imagined feeling this good. "Nami-san, are you listening?" She jumped at the sound of her name. "It's time to add the sugar."

"Yes, sorry!" Nami looked down at the bowl. The egg whites were starting to look like clouds. "Wow," she mumbled. "It's actually working." Sanji's left hand left hers as he reached for the measured cup of sugar next to the copper bowl. Little-by-little the sugar disappeared into the eggs.

"You have to be careful because with a soufflé you have to beat the eggs until the peaks are sturdy but not too stiff." The cook continued his instructions as his left hand covered Nami's again. "If you beat too long and the peaks are stiff, then your soufflé won't rise as well." Nami suppressed a giggle. It was unlike the navigator to have her mind in the gutter, but she couldn't help it at the moment.

"Concentrate," Sanji whispered in her ear. A smile crept on his lips when he felt another shiver from her. The scent of citrus in her hair was intoxicating. Being this close to Nami-san should have been enough for the cook… but now he was craving more. Images of kissing her neck and gently biting her earlobe flashed in his mind; that's when Sanji realized he had to back off. Nami-san was making this soufflé for Franky. He had to respect her feelings.

Okay, that's enough Sanji. He took a deep breath, committing the navigator's scent to memory. "Alright, I think you can handle the rest of this step." His hands slowly left hers as he straightened up and backed away.

The warmth was gone and Nami felt like a blanket had been ripped off of her. It wasn't a feeling she liked. "Sanji-kun?" She called while looking over her shoulder.

The cook was removing the bowl of chocolate from the stove and came back to the counter next to Nami. "Time for the chocolate," he explained as he added a small bit of the chocolate to three yolks, stirred, then added the yolk mix to the rest of the chocolate. Concentrating on bringing the yolks and chocolate together, Sanji tried to focus on food, rather than thinking of how good it felt to hold Nami in his arms. He continued his explanation, "You have to temper any mixture that involves eggs. If you try to just throw it together, you'll end up with cooked egg in your dish."

The navigator made a disgusted face. She was now extremely grateful the cook intervened when he did. "So, how does that get into this?" Nami looked down at the egg whites, surprised to see that peaks had formed thanks to Sanji-kun's help.

"Well, we don't want to lose any of the volume in the egg whites, so first we'll mix a little bit into the chocolate to lighten it up. Then we'll fold the chocolate into the rest of the whites." Sanji was speaking very matter-of-factly, as if he were teaching an apprentice on the Baratie. It was the only way to keep his mind from wandering to Nami's body again.

"I can handle this part," he stated. "Would you mind getting a large ramekin down from that cabinet please?" Sanji motioned in the direction of one of the overhead cupboards with his chin. The confusion on Nami's face made the cook's heart skip a beat. Confused Nami-san is extremely adorable as well. "A soufflé dish," he explained.

Finally understanding what her crewmate was talking about, Nami went over to the cupboard and looked up. Of course the dish he was talking about would be on the top shelf. With a sigh, Nami started to reach. Even leaning against the counter and on her tiptoes, the dishes were just out of her reach.

Sanji happened to glance over as Nami-san reached for the ramekins. She was at full reach with her right arm completely extended towards the dishes. Her left hand was pressed into the counter, pushing her closer to her goal. Her hips rested against the counter ledge as her left leg, on tiptoes, attempted to push her up higher. Her right leg was kicked up behind her, most likely for balance. The cook nearly had a nosebleed from watching her stretch like that, which definitely would have been bad for the soufflé.

Regaining control of his manners, Sanji walked over to help Nami. Placing his left hand on the small of her back to let her know he was there, the cook easily reached up to the top shelf with his right hand and took down a ramekin. "Was this what you wanted?" He spoke with a slight smile as he gave the dish to the navigator. The sentence was heavy with double meaning.

"Thank you." Nami blushed, noticing that the cook's hand was still on the small of her back. The warmth of his body was something she knew she would be dreaming about later that night. She took a deep breath to clear her head. "So what do we do next?"

...

Sanji finished spooning the last of the soufflé mix into the ramekin. He then ran his thumb around the inside edge of the dish to assure an even rise. Absent-mindedly, the cook brought his thumb to his mouth to clean off any mix. The action made Nami's heart pound. Was it warmer in the kitchen?

"Alright," the cook opened the oven door, placing the soufflé in the middle, "the rest is up to how it bakes." Gently closing the oven, Sanji set a small timer for 25 minutes. He turned to face the navigator. "So… what do you want to do for the next 25 minutes?"

They stared at each other, imagining different fantasies of what could fill the 25 minutes while the soufflé was baking. Both of them then broke into nervous laughter as their cheeks turned red. Sanji tried to calm his thoughts. "Tea?" He offered.

"Yes, that would be nice." Nami smiled.

...

While the soufflé baked, the pair cleaned up the kitchen, and then sat at the dining table while they had tea. Nami enjoyed hearing about how Sanji learned to beat egg whites and how many times he failed at making soufflés before he was finally successful. If it took Sanji-kun several times to get it right, Nami couldn't imagine herself, an amateur at best, getting it right the first time without his help.

"Was there anything you wanted to decorate the soufflé with?" Sanji asked while looking into the navigator's brown eyes. The cook had to admit that spending the afternoon helping Nami-san had brightened his mood incredibly, despite the soufflé being made for Franky. He felt a twinge of sadness when he realized that their time together in the kitchen was almost over.

Nami tried to think. Usually she would say orange slices, but this was for Sanji-kun after all. "Um… I don't know. What would you want on it?"

Sanji blinked. He wasn't expecting that kind of response. What would he want on his own soufflé if Nami-san made one for him? "Well… I'm not sure either. No one has ever made one for me." He chuckled, attempting to hide his embarrassment.

"I was wondering if orange slices would work?" Nami offered, testing his tastes.

"Hmmm…" the cook was thinking of how flavors interacted. "Orange and chocolate do go together pretty well. Orange slices may be a bit too heavy, though. Maybe we could use orange zest." Sanji's eyes lit up with excitement as an idea came to him. "What about orange zest and powdered sugar? Trust me, it'll be delicious!"

Nami couldn't help smiling at the cook's enthusiasm. "That sounds perfect." Deep down she hoped that he wouldn't be disappointed when he found out that the soufflé was for him.

Just then, the ping of the timer went off. Both of them looked towards the oven. "Let's see how it turned out!" Sanji grinned at his crewmate as he got up from the table. Nami followed with some apprehension.

...

The cook and navigator stood in front of the oven. Sanji offered to take the soufflé out since it was delicate and had to be handled with care. If not, they risked the soufflé collapsing. Nami had no argument.

They both held their breath as Sanji carefully opened the oven door. A perfectly risen soufflé greeted them. They smiled at each other in relief. While Sanji took the soufflé out of the oven, Nami got out an orange, the grater, sieve, and powdered sugar. The cook gently placed the soufflé down on a serving plate on the counter, then proceeded to zest the orange over it. Next came a perfect coat of powdered sugar.

Even Sanji was impressed with the dessert. He got a spoon out from one of the drawers and presented it to Nami-san. "Et voila!" The smile on the navigator's face made him want to melt. "Do you need me to carry it for you?" Although he knew it was for that asshole cyborg, Sanji was willing to carry the dessert anywhere for that smile.

"No, thank you Sanji-kun." The navigator couldn't stop smiling. She couldn't believe that the soufflé turned out as perfect as it did. She gently took the spoon from the cook. "Does it need to cool before you can eat it?"

"No, actually it should be served immediately, Nami-san." Sanji watched as the lady approached the soufflé. She poised the spoon above the dish. "Eh… Nami-san?" His jaw dropped as she scooped the spoon right through the perfect tower. So much for presentation…

Nami gave the cook a sly smile and put the spoon in his mouth. Sanji flinched, still in shock. The soufflé really was delicious. He was confused, though. "Happy Birthday, Sanji-kun." Nami's voice was as soft as the dessert in his mouth.

Sanji took the navigator's right hand in his left, causing her to release the spoon. Then he pulled her close, wrapping his right arm around her waist. Taking the spoon out of his mouth with his left hand, he searched her brown eyes for an answer. "What?"

Her cheeks burned at the thrill of feeling the warmth of Sanji's body again so soon. "I'm sorry that I didn't give you a present on your birthday last week." Nami couldn't stop glancing from Sanji's eyes to his mouth. It was so close. "I wanted to make up for it by…"

"…By making a soufflé." Sanji finished her sentence with a smile. Nami nodded in response. And here I thought it was for that stupid cyborg. He put the spoon down next to the dish. Tilting Nami's chin up, the cook leaned in. "Thank you," his voice was low, "it's the best present I've ever received." Then he gently kissed her, grateful for getting what he always wanted. The dessert was sweet, but a kiss from Nami-san was much sweeter.

They spent the rest of the afternoon sharing the chocolate soufflé until it was time to prepare dinner, which was spaghetti carbonara.

Owari!


End file.
